Heroes in Flames
by KittyxCat1509
Summary: Nora Herrmann is Christopher's niece living with him and his family ever since she was 15 and her father had died in the line of duty. Now she is part of the one big family that is Firehouse 51 and lives through all their ups and downs. Rated T for now
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the show, nor any rights to it. I only own the plot, Nora and any other person of my own imagination. Enjoy and let me know what you think**

**Chapter 1**

It was another sunny afternoon in the Windy City. The blonde woman smiled as she got out of her car and took the basket with the foods out of the back. She walked up to the station her uncle worked at, dressed in loose jeans, shirt, cardigan and trainers.

Firehouse 51 had been her home for ever since she could remember. All men of her family had been firefighters. But that only went for Nora's father, uncle and grandfather.

The young woman lost her mother to cancer when she was six and her father when she had just turned fifteen at an apartment fire. Since then she had lived with Christopher Herrmann, her only living relative besides the family of her mother.

In the garage the spaces were vacant of the trucks and the ambulance, which meant they were out on a call. Knowing her way around the blonde walked up to the door and went inside the break room and over to the kitchen area.

Anita, one of the Firehouse administrative staffs smiled at the niece of Herrmann. The dark skinned woman had worked there for a while and everyday the young woman brought food and treats for the whole station with her.

"Hello dear. How have you been?" she asked standing in front of the stove looking over at Nora.

The 26-year old shrugged her shoulders and grinned at the dark skinned woman. "Oh you know, same old."

Laughing Anita left the room and let Nora work in the kitchen until the guys would get back to the station.

She was nearly done with the food when the trucks rolled back into the garage, making her look up as she heard the loud voice of Andy Darden. Smiling, Nora put the plate down and walked over to the door, giving the members of 51 their usual warm welcome.

"I hope you all brought a big case of empty stomachs with you, cause I made you loads of food." she said, leaning against the doorway and watched the teams get out of their gear.

Herrmann looked up as he heard the voice of his niece calling to them, as well as Andy, and the two Lieutenants Severide and Casey. "What you got, honey?"

"The usual, uncle C." Nora said and went back inside the common room.

Otis grinned, looking over at her and pointing at her shirt. "Did you really bake us cupcakes?"

Snorting she turned and moved out of the bay. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Once everyone had changed, they followed the blondes lead and entered the room, each walking over to the kitchen part and grabbed a plate.

The usual for them was meat with loads of vegetables. Usually Shay and Dawson just took to the veggies and the guys all went for the steaks.

"Baby girl, why don't you work here, cooking for us all the time instead of going back to that crappy diner." Otis asked, grinning over at the blonde, a bit of the sauce staining his mustache.

She lightly hit his head and went on to serve the rest of their food. "Because I need the money to pay rent and the tips aren't too bad."

Andy pulled her down to sit on the free chair next to him. "Let him talk, Nora. How have you been?"

Herrmann leaned over, sitting next to his niece, putting his arm over her shoulder. "Well considering I offered her a room to stay at, she's well off."

The blonde smiled, laying her head on her uncles shoulder. She nodded and looked around the table. Shay and Gabby smiled at her, while Kelly had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Have you heard anything from that guy you dated? Liam?" Matt Casey asked her, making everyone turn to Nora.

She shook her head, looking down at her folded hands atop the table. "He just up and left with the money I put on the side so I could open my cafe. That guy's probably somewhere getting his drugs or whatever. The police couldn't do a thing, cause he left the country."

Andy grinned, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much. I know a few guys that would kill to be with you."

Of course his words earned him a dark look from Herrmann. Everyone at the station knew that he was very protective of his niece, always looking out for her.

Just as she wanted to tell Darden and the rest how wrong they were, the dispatch alarm sounded.

"Squad Three, Truck Eighty-One, Ambulance Sixty-One, Battalion 25, house fire, 1314 West Washburne Avenue."

Every one at the table groaned and ran out of the break room, Chief Boden following them, giving Nora an apologetic glance.

"Be careful and come back in one piece." she called out as the trucks rolled away from the station and off to do their duty.

Sighing Nora went back to the kitchen corner, putting the food away in the fridge and left them a note, saying that she left the cupcakes in the fridge with the rest of the food.

She always was afraid when the team left the firehouse. Every time they were out on a call, there was a chance that one of them wouldn't come back again.

Anita smiled as she saw the young woman leave the station, knowing Nora had to get to her job. The older woman felt sympathy for her having to work at such a place. It was the talk around town that the men were leering at the waitresses and always trying to feel them up.

Nora didn't want to impose on her uncle and live with him, his wife and his kids, as the house was already too small for them. So she decided to just take the proffered job, making better money then at the drug store down the street from her apartment or the book store across town.

Having loved to spend her time with her grandmother in the kitchen after her mother died, Nora knew from the beginning she wanted to do it herself. Opening her own cafe would have been a dream come true and even her uncle Christopher and aunt Cindy would have approved of it.

But her ex-boyfriend Liam was the one putting a damper on her dreams. She had met him at one of the firehouse grill outs. They hit it off rather well and everything was fine at first, but then Liam changed drastically. He always needed money or was gone every night. Both Herrmann and Shay talked to Nora about it, but she didn't want to see it.

Only when she found him in the bathroom having another woman on her knees in front of him and Liam smoking weed and having other drugs on him did Nora see his true colors.

She found out that he took all her money that the blonde had saved to open her cafe and used it to buy drugs, at least that's what CPD told her but they couldn't do anything as he already left America and they didn't find any trace on where he went.

* * *

A few days later found Nora sitting with the team in the break room. They had just gotten back from a call, looking grim and dirty. Herrmann had taken her aside and told his niece what had happened.

"It's Andy." he spoke softly and the blonde saw him swallowing hard.

She already had a feeling that something bad was about to happen, but had put it aside as just her nerves going off the edge again.

"There was no vent and he went inside. Casey wanted to stop him, but when the fire flared Andy was already in the house." her uncle said pulling her into his arms.

Nora felt the tears burning her eyes as she threw herself at Herrmann. Andy had always been a close friend to her like he was for Kelly and Matt. When she had the tough time with Liam, he was the first one that knew, even before her uncle, because she knew he wouldn't judge her.

Over his shoulder she saw both Severide and Casey slumped in their chairs, not looking at the other. Nora made a mental note to talk to them later, once everything had cooled down.

* * *

On the day of the funeral the sky had darkened over the city, just like it had felt the mood of all the people attending the service for Andrew Darden. His wife Heather and their sons Ben and Griffin stood next to Nora holding onto her black dress and weeping softly over the casket of their father. The blonde wanted her to know that she was still there for her and would help Heather and her sons.

Christopher Herrmann felt his heart swell with pride, as he saw his niece supporting Darden's widow. He knew Nora was able to cope with the lifestyle of a firefighter, him and her father being one, but he never wanted her to end up with one as her husband. The pain and heartbreak it would cause her would be her undoing, that much he knew.

He saw it every day, when he looked at his wife. Even seeing Hallie, Matt's fiancée, waiting at the hospital when they all would fill in and ask if he was alright.

Chief Boden walked up to Heather, who held the American Flag to her chest, sobbing softly, while her two sons held onto Nora. They knew her from when they visited their father at the firehouse and had hit it off with the blonde rather well.

"My sincerest condolences, Heather. I wish I wouldn't have to stand here and do this, but things like this happen on a daily base. We all take the risk every day and I know that we all pray to get back in one piece, but sometimes things happen, that we have no say in."

Herrmann's niece tightened her grip on the children, pulling them closer to her side as their mother wept in the chief's arms.

She knew it must be hard, telling the loved ones the firefighters left behind, that they were good men and women and died in the line of duty, helping and saving the lives of those that needed it.

Once Boden left them Nora told Heather that she had cooked something to eat at the firehouse, but the widow denied her wish to join in. She looked over at Kelly and Matt and felt the pain flare up again. Heather felt that they were to blame for what happened with Andy, so she made sure they would know.

Sighing, the blonde watched as she left with her sons and went back to join her uncle and the rest of Firehouse 51. "I hope that at least you guys are hungry." she said, giving them all a hopeful look.

"Of course, we'd never pass up on having you cooking for us." Otis said, putting his arm around Nora's shoulders, hugging her tightly.

The following weeks the tight situation with Kelly and Matt increased, making them both act so out of character and always being at each others throats. Nora's uncle lost their house to foreclosure. She wanted to help her family by letting them stay at her apartment, but Herrmann said that it was too small living with Cindy, Lee Henry and Kenny together with her, so they moved to the house of her uncle's in-laws.

* * *

"Come on girly, let's get back inside." Nora said as she lightly pulled on Pouch's leash. She had taken the dog outside to get some much needed air, as both Severide and Casey were at it again.

Shay and Dawson were out on a call, so she didn't have anyone else to talk. Once Nora got back to the firehouse, she saw a young, dark skinned male walking up to it and looking around. Smiling Herrmann's niece made her way over to him and tapped him on his shoulder.

Startled he turned around and looked at the blonde with surprise. "Uh, hi."

"Hey, can I help you?" she asked taking off the dog's leash.

"Yeah, actually I'm lookign for the chief or someone who can take me there." he said, scratching the back of his head.

Nora smiled and gave him a sign to follow her inside to the front of the station. Joe Cruz sat outside on one of the picknick tables grinning at the two.

"Yo, what you got there, Nora?"

The blonde smiled at him and truned back to the young man she brought with her, while the dog ran off inside the building. "This is uh"

"Peter Mills."

"Peter Mills and he wants to get to the chief."

Joe nodded his head and jumped down from the table, leading them both inside, where the rest of the team was supposed to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**So another chapter. Hope you like it. Enjoy and let me know what you think, so that way I know what to change or leave like it is.**

**I also want to thank SweetKittyCat for her review, I'm really glad you liked it, and for favoriting the story, as well as Asher Knight, daniellepaduch, e1311 and xMidnightLilliex, thank you for following and favoriting the story**

**Chapter 2**

"So what you doing here?" Nora asked as they walked to the truck bay.

Mills gave her a slight smile grabbing his gym bag tighter. "I'm the new candidate on 81."

"That's fantastic. We've been waiting for you!" Joe said grinning as he slightly turned around.

"Really? Great!" Peter said, looking around the garage.

Nora smiled as Cruz just rambled, not really letting the poor kid talk. "So Peter Mills, is it?"

"Peter. Well actually Pete."

Nodding his head, the driver of 81 showed their new candidate around, pointing out the important things of the station. "So gym's through there. Uh there's a TV in the kitchen, but the satellite's busted."

"Yeah, and none of these men were able to fix it so we could enjoy some television." Nora chimed in, earning a playful glare from her friend.

Cruz pulled her closer with his arm around her shoulder, causing Peter to blush slightly and give them an awkward look. He scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat, not really wanting to look at the pair of them.

"Uh, we got the equipment room." Joe pointed beside him and then awkwardly turned around pointing at the group of men sitting at a table in the bay. "Rescue Squad A-holes, they think they own that table."

Kelly glanced briefly over at the trio. Nora knew there always had been a kind of playful rivalry between Squad 3 and Truck 81, but ever since Andy's accident it was nearly hostile.

"Well if you boys would excuse me, I have to get some sweets for our guests out." Nora said, taking her leave from Mills and Cruz.

She walked past the Squad table catching the eyes of Severide, who then turned back to his magazine. But before she finally left through the door to the break room/kitchen, the blonde turned back to the four men sitting there.

"Would you guys care for some food?"

Hadley, Capp and Tony, the driver, all nodded their heads, while their Lieutenant still only looked down at the magazine.

Sighing, the young woman shook her head and went into the kitchen, getting the food ready for their lunch. Casey had asked her before if she needed the help, but Nora declined, wanting to be the only one in the kitchen.

That was her area of expertise without having visited culinary school. Even after such a hard time, the team members still found comfort in sitting at the table and enjoying Nora's food creations.

She took off her flower print flats, loving the feel of moving barefoot on the cold floor, and rolled up the sleeves of her light gray shirt. Putting her hair up into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way, Nora started cooking the vegetables and getting the beef ready to cook in the oven.

Once she had finished with that, the blonde went to the fridge and took out the mini cupcakes she had made for the group of children that visited the station that day.

Nora always loved working with the kids, because she saw in their eyes that they looked up to the men and women risking their lives at that job every minute of every day, to her the meaning of a true hero.

She took the sweets outside to the second bay where Otis was telling the class about their job, but to her surprise it wasn't Brian that stood there, but Peter. The blonde put the tray down on the table next to the door and leaned against the frame, crossing her arms, watching as the candidate told them about the pass alarm that every firefighter had on their bunkers so they could get found by their team.

As he was done, she took the tray again and walked over to the children. "Hey, that was amazing, Peter Mills." she said smiling. "Don't you think so too?"

The kids nodded their heads and thanked the dark skinned young man and applauded him for his lessons.

"Well now that we are done here today at the station, I got you all some treats because you guys have been the awesomest class I've ever seen her at 51."

They jumped up and ran over to the blonde, each taking one of the baked goods and thanking her for it, before joining their teacher where they had been only seconds before.

"Thank you Ms. Herrmann, I really appreciate the gesture." The teacher said, smiling softly at Nora and then ushered the kids back to their places, glad that she got something for them.

Glancing over at Peter, Herrmann's niece grinned and put her hand on his shoulder. "Well, you just did your first of many class encounters." she said, walking back to the doorway before she stopped and turned to him. "And you did a great job, really."

Kelly watched her leave again. He had tried to talk to her, knowing that Nora had had a tough time, too, not only with Andy's death. Taking a deep breath he went back to his card game and listening to Peter telling the kids more about the station

* * *

"Throw in for the cooking club!" her uncle voice called through the break room, making everyone stand up and give some money for her to spend on the food she cooked for the station. "Hey short arms, long pockets."

Shaking her head, Nora cleaned her hands on the rag she used to pull out the beef. "Uncle C stop it."

"How'd Herrmann get the chef job?" Vargas asked after he had put down his money, sitting at the table behind Mouch who was currently reading the newspaper sitting on the couch.

"No gag reflex. But the chef job still belongs to our sweet Nora." the oldest firefighter on the Truck said, turning around and smiling at the blond.

Casey walked up and did the same as everyone, pulling out some money and giving it to her uncle, while she prepared their lunch. "Otis! Who's giving the tour?"

"Candidate." he replied, sitting down at the table.

Nora laughed softly causing them both to turn to her. "Well he did a really good job, if you ask me. And I even think the kids liked him a bit better than Otis."

Grinning, the blonde went back to the veggies and the beef before Matt or Brian could say anything else.

The lieutenant of Truck 81 left the kitchen and searched for his new crew member. Nora followed after him, knowing that something was to go down if both, Severide and Casey were there.

She could here the alarm going off, as Peter demonstrated it.

"That's loud, isn't it?" he asked and she could see the kids nodding their heads, as she came to stand next to Matt, who gave her a questioning look.

Nora just shrugged her shoulders, listening again to Mills story.

"This house is special because it has a Rescue Squad. Squad 3 serves a big piece of the city." he explained and everyone looked over at the table where Kelly and the rest of his team sat at. "They're experts at water rescue, extraction, pretty much everything. They're like the best of the best."

Rolling her eyes, Herrmann's niece leaned against the door frame, knowing that Peter was currently inflating the already big ego of Lieutenant Kelly Severide and his Squad team some more.

"Why aren't you with them?" one girl of the class asked.

Mills was a bit taken aback, but got back on track with his answer. "Well, I mean, I plan to be. My father was a member of the Squad years ago."

That was when Matt jumped in. "Mills, right?"

Peter turned his attention over to the Truck Lieutenant and Nora let out a soft groan. "Here we go." she whispered to herself, making the teacher raise her eyebrows at her.

"Last to show, first to go. That's the Rescue Squad." Casey said, pointing over at Kelly, who turned his chair around.

The dark haired Lieutenant rearranged his cards as he spoke for the first time in a while that day. "You truck guys do such a good job getting everything ready for us. Why would we want to take that away from you?" he finished looking over at Casey.

Laughing, Matt continued with his childish argumentation against the Squad team. "Kids, you should know they make that rescue helmets extra big to fit their heads inside."

Not missing a beat, Kelly made his move, too, Nora and Peter staring in disbelief at the two grown men. "There are two types of firefighters. Those who are on squad and those who wish they were on squad."

Pointing over at Casey, Severide grinned down at the kids, who couldn't quite follow the argument between the two. And if Nora was truthful she couldn't blame them, it was a hard task for her, too.

Matt oohed, rolling his eyes, while Nora gave Peter the sign to lead the kids away before the scene between the bull heads Matt and Kelly escalated.

"Come on, kids." he said and led them out and away from the bay as Nora threw the teacher an apologetic look.

Bet I get an application from him by the end of the month." Kelly said.

Matt threw a sour look at the dark haired man in front of him, wishing to knock his grin off of his face. "If he wants you, you can have him."

"Can't you two keep it in your pants for just a few hours. Do you always have to measure your dick in front of anyone. If you got to fight then do it somewhere else." Nora said loudly, making the two lieutenants stare at her open mouthed. "And I also wanted to let you know, the foods ready."

Tony, Capp and Hadley who had been sitting at the table, too, were now up and ready to go through the doorway leading to the kitchen, while both Casey and Kelly were still in their spots from seconds ago, while the alarm sounded.

"Pin-in accident, Columbus Drive Bridge. Ambulance 61, Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Battalion Chief 25." the dispatch announced, making Nora groan in resignation.

Everyone rushed past her getting to the trucks. Her uncle was the last to leave the break room and pulled her in his arms. "Please be careful out there." she said, kissing his cheek.

"We're always careful." Herrmann said smiling at his niece.

"I'll leave the food in the fridge so you guys only need to warm it up again." She called as they got in their bunkers and in the truck. "See you guys tomorrow."

The station members waved her off as they left the bay. Only the Squad members weren't rushing. They still waited a few minutes before finally getting up. Kelly had been watching Herrmann's niece. He wanted to talk to her, but every time he wanted to take his chances, a call or one of the teams would get in the way.

Sighing loudly he stepped into his bunkers, getting ready to head out and after the trucks.

* * *

"Nora! Table 4 for you." Lenny, the cook called from the kitchen, signaling the blonde that the orders were ready for her to get out.

Turning around she grabbed them and went back out to the diner area, walking up to the table that housed five guys, all younger than her.

"Finally baby, I thought we would have to eat you up, if we didn't get our food soon." one of them said.

"I'm really sorry you had to wait. But it's quite a busy night tonight, maybe I can bring you guys some drinks for free?" she said putting the plates down on their designated places.

Another one put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Nora stumbled slightly but regained her footing and put her hand out on the back of the seat, so she could push herself away again. "How about your number, too, sweetness."

"I'm"

"How about you leave her alone, you little shit?" the man at the bar asked, turning around and having a murderous look in his eyes.

He was probably around Matt or Kelly's age and about Kelly's built.

The guys cowered away from him and left Nora alone for the time they were at the diner.

"Thank you, sir. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience." she said holding tightly onto her tray, as she stood next to her rescuer.

The man laughed softly, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. I just witnessed these guys harassing you and I couldn't stand for it."

Smiling she went around the bar and grabbed one of their specials – homemade Triamisu. I know it's not much, but I hope it's okay. It's on me." she said and put it in front of her rescuer.

"Thanks, you didn't have to. I'm Michael by the way." he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nora."


	3. Chapter 3

**So another one, for all those you want to know what Michael looks like, I pictured him to be portrayed by Jamie Dornan. If you want to see the outfits Nora wears go to www . polyvore cgi/collection?id =4329968&amp;.locale =de (just delete the spaces in the web address)**

**Thank you also to Ronnie22211 for following the story and to SweetKittyCat and Asher Knight for your reviews. I'm always happy to hear about your opinion on the chapters.**

**Now have fun reading and enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

As usual, Nora was at the firehouse. She had heard about Kelly antagonizing Casey about the false alarm for his Squad team. Having taken sympathy on Mouch, she sat down on the couch next to him, folding her legs under the material of her turquoise maxi skirt.

"Hey, don't worry about Kelly. He's just his usual A-hole self, so don't be to hard on yourself, yeah?"

Randy put his newspaper down, sighing as he looked at Herrmann's niece. "You don't understand honey. I really thought that he was there, the signs were clear that someone was thrown out of the car."

Smiling softly, the blonde laid her head on his shoulder and put her arms around Mouch, cuddling him tightly. "No matter what, you're still one of the best firefighters I know, don't let Severide's pissy moods change that."

Just then the Squad Lieutenant entered the break room, having heard the last bits of their conversation.

"Hey, if you got to talk bad about someone, at least do it to his face." he said walking over to the fridge and peering inside.

Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, Nora stood from her seat next to Randy and stormed over to Kelly.

"Now listen here, just because you lost a friend a month ago, you don't need to be a prick to everyone. We all lost a friend, it wasn't just you, Severide." she said, jabbing her finger in his shoulder.

The dark haired lieutenant winced slightly, fighting the urge to rub the spot on his right shoulder.

"I'm so sick and tired of your constant rivalry. You guys should be a team and not work against each other." Nora finished, walking around Kelly and starting with lunch for the station.

Opening his mouth, he turned to talk to her, but saw that she didn't even chance a glance at him. Sighing, Severide raked his hand through his hair and walked out of the break room. Once he was out of sight, he rubbed the ache out of his shoulder, having injured it the day, that Andy died.

Jamming his hands in his pants pockets he walked down the hallways of the firehouse, wanting to get to the locker rooms. He thought about going back to the kitchen and talking to Nora, letting her know what was bothering him, but decided against it, knowing there would be one big mess all together.

Shaking his head and scratching the back, Kelly continued on his way. Leslie Shay had just gotten back from another call, when she saw him walking down the corridor. "Kelly."

"Yeah." he turned slightly as she came to walk beside him.

She nodded her head, indicating him to follow her to a quiet corner. They stood there for a few seconds, Leslie watching her friend and roommate closely, before she put her hand up.

Ever since Kelly's accident, Leslie brought him pain killers in private, so he would be able to work without his injury to bother him.

"Here." she said, giving the lieutenant a small flask.

Swallowing, he looked down at his best friend, not really sure what to tell her. "Thanks."

"Okay." Shay nodded and left him.

Once he reached the locker room he took his small toiletry kit and went into one of the empty toilet stalls. Looking around Kelly made sure that no one was around to see him, before he entered. Taking out a needle and the flask he started his usual routine. Drawing up the syringe, pressing against the sore spot, because the pain was worsening day by day and then taking the shot.

As soon as the pain killer was in his system, Severide felt the throbbing in his shoulder lessen and he could move his hand again, opening and closing.

When he was done, the lieutenant exited the stall, walking over to the sink, making it look like any regular visit to the toilet. But this time Matt was standing there, doing the same.

Having washed his hands Kelly walked by Casey to dry them with a paper towel, when the dark blonde lieutenant turned to him.

"Nora called, lunch is done, if you want something, too." he said and watched his once close friend exiting the bathroom without so much as a word.

* * *

"Hey guys, come on, lunch is done." Nora said, walking into the truck bay.

She saw a small group gathered around as they all watched Peter talking to Shay. Dawson and her uncle grinned over at her. Nora already had a feeling that they did their own kind of initiation for their new candidate.

"Oh Uncle C, you didn't." his niece said, coming to stand next to the members of 81 and Gabby Dawson.

Herrmann put his arms around her shoulders

"Peter Mills, are you gay?" Leslie asked smirking down at the dark skinned male, who was clearly taken aback.

"Me? No!"

"Because I am."

Everyone in the bay let out a loud snort as they heard her declaration and Nora just shook her head, pushing her uncle's shoulder hard. "You guys are so mean."

"Shay! Dawson!" Chief Boden's voice sounded from behind them, making everyone turn to him. "Which one of you put a needle in the girl's heart?"

Both Gabby and Leslie had a feeling that it wasn't the last they heard about the girl yesterday and now it was like they predicted. Following their chief, the two paramedics walked out of the bay.

"What's going on?" Nora asked looking after the two women, still standing beside her uncle.

"The girl from the accident yesterday had internal injuries and Dawson went against rules to safe her life." Herrmann said putting his hand on her arm.

Sighing the blonde gave him a shocked look. "But they won't suspend her, will they. I mean she did what she had to do."

"I'm not sure, honey. These people are ruthless when it comes to going against rules."

Nora nodded her head, eying the doorway her two friends left through with caution.

"But now tell me why you're dressed so nice today."

Clearing her throat Herrmann's niece watched him for any kind of bad reaction as she told him about Michael.

"I met him yesterday at the diner, he basically rescued me from a group of rude teenage males who didn't understand the word 'No', so I gave him one of our desserts on the house and he asked me to meet him after lunch today."

Christopher knew his niece was old enough to get out and meet and date, but to him she was like his own daughter, always fearing that something terrible would happen to her. "Oh, alright. Well I heard something about lunch being served."

He didn't want to disappoint her with his own reaction to her news, knowing it would break her heart, if he told her the true feelings he had about her date.

* * *

"So I made Saturday corned beef. I hope you guys are alright with that." Nora said, pulling the beef out of the oven making her uncle and Cruz grin with satisfaction.

"Ah look at that." Herrmann said an they all heard Mouch giving his input on her food from his seat on the couch.

"She made the best chicken parmigiana I ever put in my mouth." he said.

Shaking her head with a soft smile Nora finished arranging the dish, then turned to Joe, telling him to get the teams in for the food.

Soon all members of Truck 81 were seated and Kelly and his team came inside from the bay. They walked up to the counter where Casey helped Nora dishing out the food.

"Have at it." he said as Severide looked down at the beef plate.

It felt like an eternity as the two lieutenants stared at each other, and the background chatter having died down, before the leader of Squad took and orange and left the break room. Nora watched the display between the two of them, before throwing her towel down and looking at Matt.

The dark blonde lieutenant followed the man he used to call a friend a month ago and Herrmann's niece knew it would escalate if not someone did something soon.

"What the hell's going on? You okay?" Casey asked as he walked up to the dark haired lieutenant sitting outside on the Squad truck, smoking his cigar. "Because if you're not, maybe you need to take"

"You think I need your help?" Kelly interrupted him, finally looking at his former friend.

Sighing, Matt shrugged his shoulders, hoping to get him to talk about what has been bothering him for the time since Andy's death. "I'm trying here, Severide."

"Keep on."

Nora breathed deeply, looking over at the two men.

"I cleaned out Darden's locker."

They swallowed hard and both men stood and sat up straighter at the mention of their friends name.

"You should have vented the back." Casey finally started, saying what had been nagging him all the time.

Kelly turned to look at his fellow lieutenant and Nora saw his eyes harden. "We're called the Rescue Squad, Casey. We don't vent. You shouldn't have put Andy through the window."

Matt wanted to say something, but the dark haired man sitting in front of him continued without missing a beat. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I sleep like a baby."

Hearing those words, the blonde knew that Kelly was lying, otherwise the two men wouldn't be at each others throat all the time. She crossed her arms over her chest feeling a slight chill as she listened to the argument.

"You?" Severide asked, looking at Casey and waiting for an answer.

The Truck lieutenant couldn't find one and before it escalated, he left to get back to the break room, walking by Nora with out looking at her.

"Why can't you both stop?" she finally asked, as she made her way over to the Squad truck.

"What do you want? That we kiss and make up?" Kelly asked getting up and stubbing out the rest of his cigar.

"No, I just want you guys to get back to the way you were before this mess with Andy." the blonde argued and wanted to continue, but she was interrupted by someone shouting her name.

"Nora!"

Turning around, Herrmann's niece could see Michael coming up the drive way to the firehouse.

"Michael, hey. I didn't know you were coming over." she said meeting him half way up, all the while feeling Kelly's eyes burning into her back. "I thought we would meet Downtown. Or was I wrong?"

Her date smiled putting his hands on her waist, not bothering to check if she was okay with it. "I just couldn't wait til then. You have been on my mind since last night and I wanted to see you as soon as possible."

Smiling softly, Nora grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. They walked past Severide, who eyed them both with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Once inside the break room, she found her uncle, letting him know that she was leaving with her date, but Herrmann wanted to meet that guy, that had so unwittingly captured his brother's daughter's heart.

Michael pulled a hand through his dark, short cut hair when he saw all the firefighters looking at him. He watched Nora giving one of the older ones a kiss on his cheek before she joined him again.

"Nora, honey, wait a sec." Herrmann got up and followed her, leading them both out to the bay, which was unoccupied at the moment.

"So, uh, you are Michael?" he asked, seeing the younger man swallow hard.

He nodded his head and held out his hand for Nora's uncle to shake. "Michael Banner, a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Christopher didn't bother with taking it, knowing it wouldn't change much, only that he'd probably hate him more, if he hurt his niece. "All right, listen here. You take out my niece on a nice date, be sure to make all her wishes come true and treat her like she should be treated. If you don't, just know that I'm not the only one to come after your hide."

The dark haired man standing next to the blonde was taken aback, but still nodded his head. "I understand sir."

Her uncle smiled and kissed her cheek. "Well then, off you go."

With that he left them standing in the bay, Michael with his mouth agape and Nora blushing like a tomato.

"I'm really sorry about him, he isn't used to me bringing male company by the station, but he only means well."

Laughing softly, he pulled her closer to his body, walking out of the bay. "Well if my daughter would look anything like you, I'd do the same with the men she brought by."

* * *

"So what are you working as?" Nora asked sitting across from Michael in a small cafe that over looked one of the Great Lakes.

He smiled, sipping his coffee, before he leaned back in his seat. "I work as the assistant CEO of an esteemed financial firm in New York, but they widened the office and I came here to be closer to home."

Nodding her head, she smiled over at him, studying his features. Her eyes moved down from the dark brown hair, his blue eyes, over his slim pointy nose and kissable lips to the square jaw covered with a light stubble. To her he looked very delectable right now, the way he sat in the chair across from her, dressed in a pristine gray tailored suit.

"And what are you doing? Why would someone as nice as you work at such a shabby place?"

Sighing Herrmann's niece looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "I wanted to open my own cafe, but my last boyfriend took the money I put on the side and left, dealing drugs and using it to get himself off."

"Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that. Has the police been able to get him?"

Nora shook her head, not wanting to get back to the gritty details of her past relationship.

"Maybe I could help you out with the money part. Get you a good deal for your cafe."

She smiled, her hazel eyes shining as she looked back at Michael. "Thank you."

Looking outside the blonde saw, that it was already dark. They had been at the cafe for nearly four hours and it still felt like only minutes had gone by since they arrived. Just as Michael was about to say something her phone chimed in her bag.

Nora took it out and frowned as she saw Casey's name on the display. "I'm sorry I have to take this."

Getting up, she went outside and breathed in the fresh air, standing in front of the cafe.

Reading Matt's name, she had a feeling of dread surge through her. The Truck lieutenant would only call her if something had happened to her uncle.

Feeling her hands shake as she finally answered his call, the fear of loosing another loved one made her eyes shine with tears.

"Matt, what's going on?" Nora asked, nearly choking as she heard his soft uttered apology.

"It's Herrmann."

"No! Please don't tell me..." her voice broke at the thought of her uncle being dead. "Say that he is okay."

"The fire came up to the floor we were at. We fell...You...Nora just come to the hospital." Matt said, his voice sounding strained.

Without missing a beat, the blonde ran inside the cafe and grabbed her bag, shooting Michael an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, my uncle, he was injured. I need to get to the hospital. Rain check on dinner?"

Michael stood up with her, hearing her rambling as she packed her things and ran out of the cafe. "Nora!"

"Michael."

"Come on, I'll get you to the hospital."

* * *

Nora ran inside the building as they all sat and waited on news of her uncle. While Michael was driving, the blonde felt the tears flowing endlessly. She prayed to not have to go to another funeral in such a short time, hoping that whatever god would hear her, that Herrmann would survive.

Inside she found Casey and the rest in the waiting area, having had the time to change out of their dirty bunkers.

"Do you know what's going on?" she asked as Matt took her into his arms.

"I just came back, too." he said and then turned to Cruz. "Any update on him?"

"He's in surgery, trying to find the bleed." Joe answered and everyone else just sat there, not sure what to do or say. "We know nothing."

Nora closed her eyes sitting down on one of the free chairs. Michael sat next to her and held her hand tightly in his own.

"What happened?" she asked looking at the teammates of her uncle.

"Vargas and me were up on the fifth floor and Herrmann and Casey were on the fourth. We wanted to get out but the floor broke and both fell down. Kelly and Squad came and got them both out."

Casey had gone out to make a phone call after he asked the doctor about the girl, Madeline, that Dawson had saved the day before.

Everyone waited for any update on Herrmann, not wanting to move in case there were news about him.

Later on Kelly entered and sat on the other side of Nora, giving her a tight smile.

None talked, say just sat there. As Casey reentered again, he sat down next to Chief Boden, looking over at Kelly, giving him a slight nod in thanks, which the Squad Lieutenant retürned.


	4. Chapter 4

**And another chapter, hope you all like it, even though it's a bit shorter again then the last one. I also want to thank SweetKittyCat and bruna for their reviews as well as itsgretchx for following my story. Hope you all enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think. I also put a link in my profile to the outfits of Nora in the chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

About two weeks after Herrmann's accident, Nora and Michael decided to try and go steady with their relationship. The blonde was happy finally having found someone that was so different from the guys she had met before.

Even her uncle approved of him, although it was only due to the fact that he didn't run headlong into fires for a living. Her aunt Cindy was just happy that her niece was happy, knowing she had tough luck with men and her husband always looking out for Nora.

Michael helped her out a lot, trying to get her a good deal for her own cafe, so that she finally could make her dream come true, but finding the right spot for it was very tiring.

But when they didn't talk about business, the CEO and Herrmann's niece tried to be like every couple, doing date nights and just laying on the couch, cuddling up.

The only one, who didn't like the fact that Nora was dating, was Kelly. He had always tried to make a move, asking her out. But knowing that Christopher was very protective of his niece had him back down, leaving her alone.

So the lieutenant threw himself into his old scheme, hooking up with random women all over Chicago and trying to forget about the one he really wanted.

* * *

Nora had visited Heather and the kids that day, taking them out. They walked by their usual cafe as both Ben and Griffin wanted to get some sweets.

"Okay, guys. I'll get you whatever you want, okay?" Heather said as they went inside.

The blonde looked up and saw Kelly coming down the stairs with a coffee-to-go.

"Heather. Nora." saying their names, Herrmann's niece heard the surprise in his voice, but it was hastily forgotten as the two boys jumped at him.

"Hi Kelly!" Ben said throwing his arms around the lieutenants middle.

Nora saw the smile on his face, knowing he hadn't been able to get in touch with Heather, as she still mostly blamed him for Andy's death.

"Hey! Hey, guys!" he said, ruffling Griffin's hair with his free hand, but already saw the forced smile on Andy's wife's face.

"Okay. Okay, kids, let's get in." she said pulling her children softly out of his embrace and the started to walk up the stairs to the cafe, all the while feeling Nora's eyes on her.

Kelly, too, wanted to be there for Heather and the kids, but it was a tough place to be with her. "Hey, how you doing?"

"I'm good, Kelly." she said, the fake smile still evident. "I gotta go in."

Andy's wife turned around, just wanting to get away from the Squad Lieutenant and Nora shot her a look that said, she should let him talk.

"Uh. Hey, wait..." Kelly clearly stumbled over his words, not sure what to say. "I've been meaning to come by..."

Shaking her head, Heather cut him off. "Save it. Really."

She never really liked Kelly, only tolerating him, because he was friends with her husband and for the sake of her kids, as they were clearly taken by the dark haired lieutenant.

"Come on. Andy and I were..." he started, but the mother of two would have none of it.

"Stop. Right there. Andy never even would have been a firefighter if it weren't for you." Swallowing the tears that were building up, she left Nora and Kelly standing at the entry way of the small cafe.

"Heather!" the blonde called after her friend.

Sighing, she turned to Severide, seeing the hurt look on his face as he was shot down yet again by someone he tried so hard to get to like him. "I'm sorry Kelly, she is still having a tough time. She is even avoiding me at times."

A sarcastic laugh left his lips as he turned towards the doorway. "Yeah? Well, she always liked you more than me."

Nora opened her mouth to say something, but he already left in a rush to get out of the cafe. Shaking her head at the scene that just happened in front of her eyes, the blonde went over to where the woman she considered a friend stood with her children, looking at the desserts that were displayed at the counter.

"Heather! You really need to give him a chance. He wasn't the only one at the house that day. And don't start with 'If it weren't for him'." she said taking the slightly older woman a few feet away from Ben and Griffin to give her a piece of her mind. "Kelly has his moments, true. But he would never willingly let one member of the Firehouse get hurt. We both know that Andy would have been a firefighter regardless if Kelly went to become one or not."

Without waiting for her to answer Nora went over to the boys and watched the display with them, giving them both her opinion on the desserts they wanted.

* * *

"You did what?" she asked as they all were together in the break room after the members of Truck 81 just got back from a call.

Casey smiled leaning back in his chair and looking over at Nora, who casually leaned against the kitchen counter. "Yeah, I mean this guy pleaded with us, telling us he couldn't get out of the house or he would have to move out. So I just went up to the lady and told her that it was her microwave that caught on fire and that that guy made sure that the house wouldn't have the same fate."

"Wow, I think you should have gone to acting classes instead of the Academy. But it was very sweet of you." the blonde said smiling.

"So are you and your banker boyfriend coming to the barbecue?" Matt asked as he saw Nora fiddling with her phone.

She smiled over at him, putting her mobile on the counter. "How'd you know he is my boyfriend?" she asked with a grin on her face.

Snorting the dark blonde lieutenant threw his hands up and returned her grin. "It's the fact that you are always on your phone either calling him or texting with that Michael fellow and that he is getting you every day from the firehouse and taking you over to work at the diner."

Sighing, Nora sat down next to Casey, the smile still evident on her features. "Yeah, I asked him and he said he would come by, at least for a bit. Uncle C approves of him, so please don't sick the guys on him."

The lieutenant gave her a look, but didn't say anything in return. Just then Cruz and Otis entered the break room, grinning as they saw the poster of the 'Friends of Firemen Barbecue'.

"Hey, hey. Check it out." Cruz said.

Otis grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Oh, yeah."

"Best benefit all year, boys."

"He's not lying." Vargas chimed from his seat behind Mouch, who gave his two cents, too. "We're there when you feed us."

Peter was helping Nora now, cleaning the dishes from lunch, when Otis addressed him, too.

"Hey, you know about fire fans, Peter Mills?"

The candidate turned to look at the two, while Nora just rolled her eyes, knowing where Cruz and Otis were going with this.

"They're chicks who follow firemen like flies to honey."

"Bees, Otis. Bees to honey." Joe corrected him, earning a snort from Herrmann's niece.

"Whatever. We're still the honey."

"Oh and you both would know that, right? You got two on each finger, yeah?" the blonde asked grinning, knowing they both weren't too good with the ladies. Peter did the same, taking the large pot to the sink and proceeding with washing the dishes.

Both Otis and Cruz opened their mouths to say something, but then turned to Casey shaking their heads.

"Hey, Lieutenant, why do we have a goat on the truck?" Otis asked the dark blonde.

He turned to him and started explaining. "Years ago, Truck 81's first fire was at a goat farm in Little Italy."

Brian shot him an disbelieving look as he watched his lieutenant munch on one of the cookies Nora made for the firehouse.

"Really?" he asked and Casey nodded his head.

Herrmann's niece couldn't help but snort at that, knowing everyone was trying to make up a story as to why Truck 81 had a goat as their symbol.

"Nah. They used to have a goat at the station, so they didn't have to mow the grass." Mouch said, confusing poor Otis even more.

"Huh. I thought that's what candidates are for." he said leaning against the counter with Cruz sitting up on it, next to him, looking back at Mills with a chuckle.

Having had enough of the two trying to get a rise out of their new candidate, Nora hit them both with the wet dish towel, making them stop instantly.

"And if you both don't stop, I'll see to it personally that you have to mow the yard at the station again, Otis. And that's a promise, I have my ways." she threatened with mirth shining in her eyes.

And then the alarm buzzed.

At first Nora thought they had to get out, but it was just announcing a visitor.

"Smoke-eater in the house." was the phrase coming from the intercom.

Everyone left the break room in a haste to greet their fellow mate. The only one taking it slowly was Nora, as she already knew her uncle was going to visit today.

As they were outside in the bay, everyone clapped and cheered, seeing Herrmann walking inside, leaning heavily on a crutch.

"Welcome back." Cruz greeted him, but looked down as he finally saw his fellow team mate in the full. "Jesus, man..." It was the reaction her uncle had wanted to get, as he limped over to then.

"They ticked a nerve in my leg, I may not walk straight again." Christopher said with a heavy look on his face.

After everyone's initial shock, Kelly was the first to recover calling out to Mills to get Herrmann a chair. From behind Casey and Severide, Nora shot her uncle a disapproving look, knowing full well he was joking around again.

Peter brought one over for Christopher to sit down to which he thanked him, letting himself fall into the seat groaning loudly.

"Oh, whoa, whoa. Wait a second, fellas, um..." Herrmann rubbed his forehead. "Are any of my kids around here, or my wife or her parents?"

They were all confused, shaking their heads as Otis told him 'No'.

"What the hell?" Nora's uncle said, moving his leg up and down before he jumped out of his seat yelling "I'm healed! Oh, I'm healed!"

Shaking her head, the blonde went over to hug her uncle tightly as he grinned from ear to ear. "Must have been living with my damn in-laws that was breaking me down!"

"Stop it Uncle C." she reprimanded him, hitting his shoulder lightly.

Once she let go of him, Otis ran at Herrmann making him gasp and cry out softly. "All right. Not that healed."

"Ready to get back?" Casey asked him, smiling at the older firefighter.

"Yeah..."

Chief Boden walked over, smiling at Nora's uncle. "Glad you're back Herrmann. We're a better house with you here."

"Thanks. Chief." he answered, putting his arm around his niece, smiling at his comrades.

"Uh, later on we're going to have a white board session about what happened in the Darden incident last month. I expect you all to be there."

Nora could see Kelly's and Matt's face falling at the mention of Andy's name.

Boden then turned and welcomed Nicki Rutkowski, who was helping out with the payroll for the next month. That was one thing Nora didn't want to know, so she left the bay walking out to see Michael standing there.

Just as she met him halfway leaning up to kiss his lips, the alarms buzzed calling for the trucks.

"What's going on?" he asked, putting his arms around her waist.

"Accident, they all need to leave."

The CEO nodded his head, pulling her closer. "How about we get out and go drink a coffee?"

Smiling, Nora laid her arms around his neck, nodding her head in approval. "Sure, I'd love to."

As the trucks left the bay, Kelly could see Nora standing there with her boyfriend and he felt the green eyed monster rise it's head.

"Are they going to be at the barbecue?" Tony asked him has he saw the sour look on his lieutenant.

"How should I know? It's her business." he snapped leaning back in his seat.

The driver of Squad 3 was taken aback, but shut up, knowing that whatever was bothering him would be his own undoing and no one could help him, if he didn't open up about it.

* * *

"So have you decided? About the barbecue I mean." Nora asked as they sat across from each other at the same cafe they were at that first night.

"Well if it's all right with you I need to check in with some clients and would meet you at the park." Michael said, softly stroking the back of her hand, which lay on the table in front of him.

Smiling softly Herrmann's niece nodded her head. "That sounds wonderful. I can't wait to show you off."

The dark haired CEO laughed, pulling on her hand to reach her lips, so he could kiss them. "Shouldn't I say something like this?"

"No. Not this time. At the barbecue I want to boast with my boyfriend." the blonde said, a grin steadily growing on her features.


	5. Chapter 5

**So finally the next one. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway. Let me know what you think. As always I'd like to thank SweetKittyCat and Asher Knight for their reviews, am always happy to read them. And I also want to thank queen2395, runawaycherry93, andrea1234, lynnenikko666, ML143 and jjchickybabe for following and favoriting my story.  
**

**So now on with the story and enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

On the day of the barbecue Nora was just getting ready in her bathroom, putting the finishing touches on her light make-up. She had told her uncle that she would meet him and the rest at the park.

Shay had called her two days before, telling her about the call they had had. Kelly had to go down and rescue one of the workers from a floor hole. At least he wanted to, but wasn't able to do it, as the worker's, an older man named Peter, leg was trapped under a boulder. The dark haired lieutenant had to watch him die from the internal bleeding.

A pang of guilt gnawed on her conscience, knowing she had been too harsh not answering his call.

Even before Andy's death, Nora had sworn Kelly, Andy and Casey could call her whenever they needed to after a bad call or just to talk about things in general.

But now she only had her head wrapped around Michael and her cafe, not wanting to let anything or anyone get in her way again.

Sighing, Nora pushed a stray strand away from her face, pulling it back up into the messy bun she had created on her head. Dressed in mint colored shorts, a white tank and a red and blue plaid button-up the blonde pulled on her black flats and was just about to leave, when her door bell rang.

Frowning slightly she went to the speaker, when Michael's voice rang out, bringing a smile to her face. Herrmann's niece pressed the buzzer to let him enter her apartment building, before she walked out and waited for her boyfriend to come up the stairs to the second floor.

As he finally reached her front door, the blond threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, kissing his lips. But soon she stopped, looking him up and down. Michael had abandoned his usual attire consisting of a pristine suit, dress shirt, tie and shiny dress shoes. Now he wore a pair of dark washed jeans and a white shirt, making him look more his age, then he usually did.

"Well that's what I call one hell of a greeting." he said, grinning down at her, his arms wound around her waist.

"Hey!" Nora said, smiling. "I didn't know you would come here. I thought, we would meet at the park."

The dark haired CEO smiled down at his girlfriend, putting his hands on her cheeks. "I know, but I promised you, I'd try to get everything done, so we could go there together."

"You're amazing." Herrmann's niece gushed, kissing Michael passionately.

He laughed, slightly stepping back from her, before he grabbed her hand. "Don't I know it. But are you almost done now, so we can go?"

Nora nodded her head and reached over to the small closet beside her front door. She grabbed her bag and led him out of her apartment, making sure it was all locked up and closed tightly.

"Now I'm done." she said, intertwining their hands and walking down the staircase of her apartment building to get out to his car.

Michael had to park a few feet away from the building, as he wasn't able to get a spot right in front of it, but they didn't mind the short walk, enjoying the fresh air. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled the blonde closer to his body.

"Have I told you, that I love you?" he asked with a smile.

Nora shook her head, returning his with her own smile. "Not today. But the day before."

"Then I am saying it again. I love you, my little torch." her boyfriend said, sealing her lips with a soft kiss, while holding onto her hand over her shoulder.

After Nora had ended the kiss, she grinned at the CEO. "How'd you come up with that name?"

"I read somewhere that Nora could be a shortened form of Eleanor, meaning 'Torch'."

Nodding her head, Herrmann's niece kissed his cheek. "I would have never guessed you'd do something like that."

Michael laughed loudly, holding his belly in the process. "I'm full of secrets and hidden talents."

"Aren't we all?" she asked, lightly hitting his side.

It wasn't long before the couple reached his car and drove off, maneuvering the Mercedes-Benz through the streets of the windy city. Nora enjoyed Sundays, getting to take a look at the busy life of Chicago and going out to the parks or even the Zoo.

"Have you been to Lincoln Park before?" she asked Michael as they neared their destination.

The dark haired CEO shook his head, intertwining his fingers with hers. "No, I usually don't have time to go there. And I didn't have a girlfriend who's family is part of Chicago's finest Firehouse."

Once they were at the park, Michael told Herrmann's niece to wait for him at the entrance while he looked for a parking spot. As it was a big event for everyone of the CFD and for every citizen of Chicago, it was hard to find a good place to park the car, but he finally managed and joined his girlfriend, who stood patiently in front of the large tree where he left her.

The dark haired CEO took her hand and gave it a light kiss, earning a soft smile from his girlfriend.

"Ready to go in?" he asked.

She nodded excitedly like a small kid asked if it wants candy. "Of course, can't wait to show you off."

* * *

Michael and Nora reached the place where Firehouse 51 met for the barbecue a short while later. The blonde could see her aunt standing with a few other wives, while her uncle sat at a table with Otis, Cruz and Vargas.

"Nora, dear!" Cindy said as she saw the blonde head of her niece walking over with her boyfriend. "I hope you didn't have any troubles getting here."

"Oh, no, Aunty. It was fine, really." she said, smiling softly as she shook her head.

Her aunt watched her, putting her hands on Nora's shoulder. "Michael! How have you been?"

The CEO smiled, kissing her aunts cheek, before pulling his girlfriend back to his side. "Good, thanks for asking. Work has been very stressful, so I'm glad to get some time off to relax today."

Cindy nodded her head and pointed over to the table where Herrmann was sitting with the members of Truck 81. "Why don't you guys go over and say 'Hello' to your Uncle."

"Sure, were Uncle C and the boys already in the games?" the blonde asked, knowing Lee Henry and his younger brother loved to cause trouble and play games with their father.

Nora's aunt smiled. "You know them." was all she said, before her niece walked away with Michael after her.

"Hey! Lee Henry! I'm not gonna tell you again! Put the stick down before I beat you with it!" she could hear her uncle yell at his oldest, who was playing around with a large branch nearly hitting the younger ones that stood in front of him.

Cruz and Vargas were shocked at his outburst, not being used to such language from the father of two.

"Hey! What?" Herrmann asked looking over at his comrades.

Vargas shook his head, taking a sip of his beer, before he put a hand on Christopher's shoulder. "Take it easy."

"You gotta be fair but firm." Nora's uncle explained, earning a giggle from the blonde as they finally reached the table.

She pulled Michael after her, as she leaned down to kiss Herrmann's cheek. "You always knew how to raise good little soldiers."

Hearing her voice so close to his ear, caused the older firefighter to nearly choke on his beer. He turned and saw his niece laughing at his shocked expression. Beside her stood her dark haired boyfriend, scratching the back of his neck, as he was now in the middle of the people Nora called her family.

"Ah, yeah. You never really complained about the way I raised you." Herrmann said, pulling Nora into a tight hug. Then he reached out and shook the CEO's hand in greeting. "Michael."

"Sir." Although Christopher had told him to call him Herrmann or by his given name, Nora's boyfriend still insisted on calling him 'Sir'. He was intrigued, but also quite annoyed, feeling rather old that way.

The blonde sat crouched down next to her uncle and pointed over to Peter Mills, who was currently walking up to their little group in his dress blues.

"Uh, guys. Why did Peter come here in his uniform?" she asked and earned a snigger from the men around her.

"Hey!" Cruz called out and grinned at the sight before him.

Her uncle agreed as they all saw their Candidate standing there dressed to the nines. They clapped and whooped and Nora couldn't help but shake her head at how they treated him. Even Otis, but it was probably due to the fact that he had received the same treatment.

"Howdy!" Mills greeted them, tilting his head.

Otis couldn't help himself and joked around, knowing he'd have to say something about Peter's outfit. "When's the parade, Candidate?"

Nora reached out and slapped him on his forehead, only getting to reach there, as Michael had his arms around her waist, holding her to his body.

"Yeah, that's a good one. Good one Otis." the Candidate said, smiling over at the blonde standing with her boyfriend. "I'm Peter by the way."

"Michael, nice to meet you." the CEO said and shook hands with the dark skinned man in uniform.

Cruz spoke up again, chuckling as he couldn't get over the fact how funny it looked to have Mills standing there all dressed up, while they had come in casual attire. "Hey, you taking collections for the Salvation army?"

"Got ice cream?" Herrmann asked, earning another snort from around the table.

Mills looked at the men sitting there, not knowing if he should be angry or just amused altogether. "That's original. Real good."

Just then a dark haired girl walked up to him, smiling from behind her sunglasses. "Excuse me, are you the Captain?"

"Uh, no miss. He's actually the Commissioner." Gaping at him, Nora watched as Otis hopped down from the table and walked over to the two.

The blonde leaned down to her uncle and tapped his shoulder. "What's he doing?"

Herrmann shrugged and watched the exchange with a bemused expression.

Mills shook his head, not wanting to be part of Brian's scheme, wanting to tell the girl that he wasn't, but she was not in the slightest convinced. Otis jumped in again talking about how he was the Commissioner and how Mills was the youngest one in Chicago history.

Now the young woman was really impressed and Nora couldn't help the giggle that bubbled in her throat, as she heard the ex Candidate tell their new one to take her with him. "Go show her where the beer cooler is, Commissioner."

"I'd like that." the girl said, smiling at Peter, who returned it with a lopsided grin of his own.

Mills put his hand on her back and directed her over to where the beverage was located. "All right. Right this way."

All were impressed by Otis show, knowing he was the one to want to get the girls at the Friends of Firefighters Barbecue.

"What?" he asked looking at the group around the table.

Cruz turned slightly still sitting on his perch atop the table, an unbelievable expression on his face. "So you're his wingman now?"

"Karma." was the only thing Otis said and all laughed at him, knowing his Karma would never lead him to where he wanted to go.

Nora turned to Michael putting her arms around his neck, full well knowing that everyone at the barbecue, including Casey, Shay, Dawson and Severide, were watching them with hawk eyes. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, show me the way, babe." he said and let himself be pulled after his smaller girlfriend.

* * *

They reached the beer cooler just as Heather left. Nora saw Kelly still standing there, a sour expression on his face.

"Kelly?" she asked, her hand still held tightly onto Michael's.

The lieutenant chanced a look at the couple and only nodded his head in greeting. He didn't want to do anything he might regret later on. Knowing if Herrmann's niece made him talk to her boyfriend he'd probably smash his head in with a beer bottle.

"How have you been? Shay told me"

"Shay should look out for herself." he snapped at the blonde, who involuntarily took a step back from him at the harsh tone he had used.

The CEO stepped up to him and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, man. If you got a problem with your girl, you don't need to get angry at Nora. It's not her fault."

"Yeah? Listen buddy, you should just go back to you're upper class parties. No use in staying down here. It's too boring for you." Kelly said, not taking his eyes off of the dark haired man in front of him.

Even so Michael was the same build as him, Severide knew he could take him on with out a problem. But Nora took a step towards them, putting herself between the lieutenant and her boyfriend.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Kelly? He hasn't done anything to cause your animosity." she said pushing against his chest, so he would step away from Michael.

He didn't know why, but seeing her with that finance buddy made him see red. When Nora was with him, Kelly knew, he didn't have a chance at ever being with her. Not that the fact that she was Herrmann's close relative was any easier.

Without a word, he grabbed another beer and left the couple standing there. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get her out of his head. Couldn't stop the feelings he had for Nora Herrmann. And just that combined with what was going on at the moment made his life a living hell.

Sighing Nora watched her friend walk away. She was thinking strongly about the fact if Kelly still was her friend. Ever since she had started dating Michael he had kept his distance, not even wanting to come to the break room for lunch.

"Come on, lets get a beer and enjoy the day." her boyfriend pulled her away from the sad thoughts. "Forget about him. If he has a problem with us, he should just keep his distance."

Nora nodded her head, smiling at Michael and kissed his cheek. "I love you."


	6. Chapter 6

**So finally I have gotten around to write another chapter to the story, I am so so sorry, for not updating sooner, but work and life caught up and I couldn't find the time to write. But now I will try to get back to it. Thank you to Sarrabr4, SweetKittyCat and HermioneandMarcus for their reviews, I am so glad you still read the story. Thank you also to all of you who follow and favorited this story, it means so much to me. But now on with it. The link for the outfits is still on my profile page and will be updated, too.**

**Have fun reading. Thank you for your patience.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Are you almost done, sweetheart? I got the movie running." Michael asked from the living room as Nora stood in the kitchen getting the snacks.

The blonde grinned as she heard her boyfriend call out. "It's nearly done."

Just as she was about to enter the room, where the broker already sat on the couch, there was a loud knock on the front door.

"I'll get it. Sit down." the young man called, walking over to see who wanted something from them this late.

He opened the door and swallowed down the anger that nearly choked him, when he saw Kelly standing there. At first Michael thought something had happened with her uncle, but the look on his face was different.

"Kelly? What's going on?" That's when Nora decided to come up to the door to see what's going on.

The Squad Lieutenant raked his hands through his short hair, breathing out a loud sigh. He looked at the blonde standing in front of him, dressed in a mans button-up and black yoga pants together with her boyfriend.

"I, ah. Sorry. I shouldn't have come over." he mumbled and turned to leave, but Nora reached her hand out to him, halting his movements.

Herrmann's niece smiled softly at her friend, putting her hand on his arms. "Please, Kelly. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yes. We're friends." the dark haired Lieutenant nodded his head, looking over at Michael before he continued. "I wanted to visit Georgie. She is Peter's wife. The one from the call Shay told you about."

Understanding his unasked question, Nora nodded her head. The broker now understood the bond they had, to her the people at 51 were her family and they would always come first. He didn't like it, but if she always came back to him, he would live with that.

"I'll come with you. Micheal, I'm sorry, we'll watch it as soon as I'm back."

"You don't have to." Kelly said, shaking his head, seeing the annoyed look on the dark haired man next to Nora.

But the blonde woman interrupted him. "I want to. So just give me a second."

Without waiting for his answer, she went inside her apartment, with Michael following behind her. Herrmann's niece kissed his cheek.

"I'm sorry, I know you planned this tonight, but Kelly is still my friend."

The broker put his hands on her cheek, kissing her softly. "I know. Now go with him, I think he isn't as bad as I thought at first."

Taking the light jacket from the wardrobe in the hallway of her apartment, she thanked him and walked back out through the door, seeing Kelly standing there, his hands deep in the pockets of his black jeans, pushing up the dark shirt and his black leather jacket.

"You ready to go?" Nora asked.

The Lieutenant nodded his head, letting the blonde lead the way out of the building. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his body. "Thanks, Nora."

"You're welcome." They arrived at Kelly's car and got in, before he drove off to Georgie's house. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Swallowing thickly, he nodded. "We got called to a construction site. It collapsed. Some were only lightly injured, but then there was Peter. He was farther down, his foot jammed under a rock and bleeding on the inside. We tried everything, even called for the trauma surgeon, but it was taking too long."

He stopped and Nora grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, letting him know, that she was there for him.

"Peter asked me to take his foot off, but it just took too fucking long." Kelly sniffed and pushed his fingers against his eyes, not wanting to let the tears escape. "He asked me for my phone, to record his last message for his wife. I could do nothing and sit there, while we waited for his last breath and to finally get out of the unstable construction."

"I'm so sorry, Kelly. I'm sorry I never answered the phone."

Severide shook his head and gave her own hand a tight squeeze. Not long after they stopped in front of a nice looking house which had to be Georgie and Peter's home. They exited the car and walked up to the door.

Kelly was nervous, fiddling with his hands before he finally knocked. Nora laid her hand on his arm and gave it another reassuring squeeze. He had told so many people that their loved ones were dead, but this was something entirely different.

It didn't take long for the older woman to open the door, the blonde could see a slight sheen of tears in her eyes, knowing she must have expected the Lieutenant to come by.

"Oh, Mr. Severide. Come in please."

Giving her a tight lipped smile, turning back to Nora and pulling her after him.

The older woman looked between the two of them and led them over to the couch. "Would you or your girlfriend like something to drink?"

"Ah, no, thanks. And I'm, well, I'm not his girlfriend. We're good friends, that's it." Herrmann's niece said and Kelly felt a slight pain near his heart, so badly wanting her to take back the words and say that she was his girl.

Taking a deep breath, Severide turned to Peter's wife, who now sat down next to him, as he pulled out his phone. "You're husband wanted me to record this for you. He wanted to tell you goodbye."

Tapping the screen of his iPhone, Kelly opened the video file he recorded and showed it to Georgie. Nora leaned against his shoulder and watched it with the two of them.

In the video, Peter moved his fingers along his temple and cheek, trying to wipe away the blood there.

"Is the blood off? I don't want her to see the blood."

"Here, here." As there was still a slight trace on the side of his face, Nora could see Kelly's hand reach up and wipe the remainder away. "There. You're good."

The workman brushed his hair back, obviously still wanting to look good for his wife. "And my hair? I should've got it cut."

"Your hair looks fine. Fine." Kelly reassured him and the young woman saw him swallowing thickly as he watched the scene again.

She looped her arm through his own and kissed his cheek, feeling the slight stubble there.

And then, Peter turned his eyes to the camera, giving it a soft, loving smile. The Lieutenant handed Georgie the phone, so only she could see it now.

"Georgie, my love. God, I wish I were better at this." he started and the older woman chocked up, seeing her dead husband for the last time. "I've made a lot of promises to you over the years. Some were harder to keep. I promised you a house in Provence. I'm sorry we never made it there. You worked so hard on that French."

Nora felt the tears sting her eyes as Kelly leaned his head on top of her own, fighting back his own sorrow.

"But any promise I ever made about you, about how you were the final piece to my puzzle. Those I kept until today. Every day."

Severide looked over, seeing the wife in such a state of sorrow had him wanting to tear his own heart out, just to not feel the pain. All this was just too much too soon. First Andy and now he had had to be with Peter during his final minutes of his life.

"I know...I know what you're thinking about Kelly here 'cause I thought it, too. He's exactly the son that I pictured for us." Georgie looked over at him, her tearful eyes making contact with his own sorrowful ones as he constantly fought back the tears. "And if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had this chance to say goodbye. "Oh, my love, do you remember how I made you promise me that you'd let me die before you?"

Sniffling softly the blonde rubbed her fingers under her nose, as he heard Peter's words of love. They mus have had a wonderful marriage if their bond was still so strong.

"Well, thank you, my love because I couldn't live a day in this world without you."

The older woman softly stroked the screen, as if her own fingers could brush his cheek one more time.

"Georgie..." Peter breathed before the video only showed his face.

"Mon amour." Georgie told him and turned back to Kelly, thanking him and pulling him into a tight hug. She even turned to Nora, doing the same to her.

"I haven't done anything, besides coming with him, to see you."

The older woman smiled softly, brushing her hand against the Lieutenant's cheek before they all said their goodbyes for the night. Herrmann's niece had already gone down the steps towards Kelly's car, when Georgie stopped him.

"You should tell her how you feel, Kelly, or it might be too late. Life's not waiting for us to finally decide what we want to do with it."

Sighing, Severide raked his hands through his hair. "I know, but she already has someone else and I'm not sure it would work out between us."

"You won't know if you don't try, son. And on that note, you're always welcome here. My Peter was right, you know, you were just like we imagined our own son to be, if we had one."

Thanking her, Kelly left the house and slowly moved to his 1968 Chevy Camaro, still mulling over the words Peter's wife said to him. He knew he couldn't just walk up to Nora and say 'I love you' because it wasn't that easy and right now it wouldn't work as she was still with Micheal.

* * *

"Hey guys. I brought you breakfast." Nora called holding up the bags she had brought with her.

The guys and women of the firehouse cheered and went over to the kitchen bar. The blonde pulled out the food containers and let them all have their fill. "Has anyone seen Kelly, by the way?"

"Ah, I think he went to Boden's office." Shay said, when she passed the young woman to get to her breakfast.

Thanking the blonde paramedic as she made her way to the office space of the firehouse. It wasn't a long walk from the break room and she saw Severide talking to Nikki. Nora didn't have a good feeling with all this, but she had to let her friend deal with it however he wanted, because he would never listen to her anyway.

Before she had met Michael, Herrmann's niece always pictured herself with the Squad Lieutenant, having had a crush on him ever since she saw him the first time at the firehouse visiting her uncle. But now, their friendship was only platonic, her having a boyfriend and him jumping between the sheets all over Chicago.

"Look, I'm not really known for my self-restraint, so I'll need you to meet me halfway here and respect Boden and your dad's wishes."

Smirking to herself, Nora bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud when she listened to the two as Kelly shot her down. Once he was satisfied, Nikki wouldn't do anything stupid, he got up and smiled as he saw the young blonde standing there.

"Hey. Sorry, had to some paperwork."

"Yeah, I saw that." she commented, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. "I just wanted to let you know, that I brought you guys breakfast."

Smiling the dark haired Lieutenant put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Listen, I just wanted to thank you for the other day. You know, for going with me to meet Georgie.

"You're my friend, part of my family. I'd do anything for you guys."

He softly kissed her temple and pulled her closer, leading the blonde back to the common room. "Love you, Torch."

Giggling, Nora looked over at Kelly. "You know, Michael calls me that, too. Something about Eleanor and it meaning Torch."

"Well, I didn't know that, but you got a temper and I thought it was fitting."

With an outraged cry, Herrmann's niece hit his uninjured shoulder lightly, thankfully for the Lieutenant.

They entered the break room and Kelly steered directly toward the counters, grabbing his breakfast.

Nora smiled and then went to her uncle, kissing his cheek. "All right, folks. I gotta go, I'm meeting up with Michael and his mom for brunch."

"Dressed like that? Must be some fancy thing you're going to." Christopher commented as he looked at the light pink dress and heels she wore. His niece never wore heels, if she didn't have to, not even at her own prom, where she wanted to dance all night and not just sit around because her feet hurt.

Nodding her head, she pushed her hair up into a tight bun on the back of her head. "Yeah. His mother is a lawyer or some other. That's why we're going to this really upper class thing downtown."

"Well all right, have fun, sweety." Herrmann copied her and kissed her cheek in goodbye.

Thanking her uncle, Nora waved in the general direction, but not before seeing Kelly's sad look, when she left. "See ya, guys. Be careful out there. Oh and you might consider doing something else besides putting a sign out there, asking for a TV donation."

A chorus of 'bye' and 'always' sounded through out the firehouse as she left and the blonde got in her car, driving off towards downtown.

* * *

"Hey sweetheart."

Michael kissed her lips longingly, his hands on the bare skin of her neck, in front of the restaurant they would meet his mother.

"You shaved." Smiling at her boyfriend, Nora linked her hands behind his own neck, when they finally broke the kiss. "Is your mother already inside?"

"Yeah, she is waiting for us."

The banker grabbed her hand and lead her to the back, where already a middle aged woman was seated. Her hair was up in a tight bun on the top of her head and she was immaculately dressed in a womanly pinstripe suit.

"Michael." she said in a icy tone, turning her glare onto Nora.

Olivia Banner was one of the best paid attorneys in the whole of the US, a woman of the upper class and now her son brought home some floosy from the who knows where.

"Mother"

"You must be Nora."

The blonde only nodded her head, swallowing the lump that had gotten into her throat. "I am. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Banner."

"Yes. That's nice." she said, the sarcasm thick in her words as the couple sat down across from her. "Michael, why don't you get us some coffee. The waitress has probably forgotten to bring it."

Nora thought, if his mother were a wolf, she probably would have growled and gone and ripped out anything she could get between her teeth.

"So, Nora. Tell me about yourself. My son usually doesn't tell me about his girlfriends."

Swallowing, the blonde started off by telling Olivia about her family, how her uncle and his wife were her only family now and that she felt safest at Firehouse 51.

"You work there, too?"

"No, I work at a small diner just a few blocks away from here. That's where I met Michael. He helped me, when some men wanted to get grabby. But I do cook at 51 on occasion. They are kind of like my second family. And I also want to open my very own cafe, Michael was so nice to help me plan all this." she explained, fiddling with her hands and picking at her nails on occasion, a nervous habit, she wasn't able to quit for now.

Crossing her fingers and leaning her elbows on the table, Michael's mother stared straight at her, her cold eyes, giving Nora shivers that ran down her back. "Nora, darling, from what I see and hear of you, I am not sure you fit into all of this."

"I don't think I understand."

"Michael and I are part of the upper class of Chicago. Everything we do or say, how we dress and act, reflects upon us and the society we are part off. And this little fling he has going on with you" grabbing the blonde's hand and squeezing it tightly. "It's not going to last, sweety. He needs someone better by his side, not some little orphaned girl. You're just a charity fuck for him. I am the best in what I do and this is my reputation on the line."

Feeling the tears sting her eyes, Nora tried to blink them away. She never felt so cold and alone at the moment, that Olivia Banner started her speech about how she was not good enough for her son.

"If you'll excuse me now, I'll have to get back to New York. I have an important appointment there."

And with these words, the woman, that Herrmann's niece lovingly called Lady Dragon, left the restaurant, saying her goodbyes to her son.


	7. Chapter 7

**So another chapter for you, thank you to SweetKittyCat, inlovewith3 and sarahmichellegellarfan1 for your reviews, this means a lot to me. If you were wondering, I imagined Olivia Banner to be portrayed by Lynda Carter.**

**Chapter 7**

Taking a deep breath, Nora waited for Michael to return and grabbed a tissue to dab at her eyes. Not long after, she felt a soft, warm hand at the back of her neck, but the butterflies had already left her.

"Are you with me, just to spite your mother?"

She couldn't stop the words falling from her lips, as her boyfriend sat down across from her, the very spot his mother had occupied only a few minutes ago.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing and reached out his hand to hold onto Nora's as he saw the tears in her eyes. "Torch, what's going on?"

"Your mother told me to leave you, as I would not fit into your society and would only ruin your status."

Gaping at his girlfriend, the banker shook his head, and grabbed both of her smaller hands, laying a kiss in each palm of her hand. "You are not, I told you I love you for who you are. This has nothing to do with upper and lower class."

"Yes it does. You took me to one of your parties. The people there, how they act. How you act in their presence."

"Torch"

"Don't touch me." She stopped him, taking her hands out of Michael's and held them up, so he wouldn't say anything. "Don't call me that. I thought we could work, but I think I could never work with your mother. Those are just two different worlds. All this" she gestured to the restaurant and her clothes. "All this is not me, I never wear heels, only if I have to. And even then I swap them for flats as soon as I get the opportunity. I think we should break it off while we're still ahead."

"Nora, come on."

"No, your mother opened my eyes. I do not fit in. Goodbye Michael." she told him, sniffling, leaving a flabbergasted ex-boyfriend behind in the restaurant.

Reaching down, she opened the ankle straps to her heels and took them off, hailing herself a cab and driving to the only place she felt the safest.

Her relationship with Michael could have worked out, but she would rather run now, while it still didn't hurt so much, then have fall deeper in love with him and have his mother ruin everything. The woman had nearly thrown up on the table, when Nora mentioned that she wanted to open a cafe and worked at the small diner. To that woman she was only a fly on the wall, ready to get rid off.

She would have never fit into his life. He had parties to attend and dinners, needed her to look like a trophy wife, which she obviously wasn't.

"To Firehouse 51, please." she said, brushing the tears of her cheeks as she saw him stumble out of the restaurant, trying to reach her again.

* * *

"Hey, darling. You okay?"

Mouch was the first to ask when he saw her come into the common room just before the end of their shift. Nora had already taken down her hair when she was in the cab on the way to 51.

Looking over to the entrance, both Casey and Kelly could see that Herrmann's niece had cried, the tear tracks and runny mascara still visible and slightly smudged on her cheeks. Just as the Squad Lieutenant wanted to go over and ask her what had happened, Christopher, Dawson and Shay walked in from the office entrance.

"Nora, sweety. What's wrong?" her uncle asked and pulled her into a tight embrace, rubbing her back, as she cried softly into his shirt.

Shay went over to her friend and squeezed into the embrace, too, kissing the other blonde's cheek. "What did that fucker do? You know I can be really creative in ways of torture."

Snorting lightly, Herrmann's niece lifted her head, brushing away the new tear tracks and apologizing to her uncle about having gotten make-up on his work shirt. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. Now tell your uncle what's gotten you all in tears."

"I broke up with him."

A loud chorus of 'What?' sounded in the break room and everyone gathered around the small group of three.

"What? Why?" Shay questioned her friend, turning her around so she could search for any kind of injury that would indicate her sudden decision.

Swatting away her hands, Nora grabbed the paramedics hand and gave her a tight lipped smile. "I was with him for three months and in total bliss, that I didn't see, how much I really changed. I never wore any fancy clothing or acted posh just to fit in. I didn't notice it at the parties we attended, but his mother's spiteful and hurtful words opened my eyes."

Leslie gave her a reassuring squeeze, letting her know that she still had the support of her family.

"He is part of the upper class society of America. And I am just a little girl from the suburbs of Chicago."

"Ah, come on. She's a bitch with a stick up her ass. You'll find someone else, someone, that's better for my little girl." Christopher said, kissing her temple and nearly crushing her in his arms again.

Laughing softly, the blonde kissed his cheek and laid her head on his shoulder, looking over it to see Kelly with a soft smile at the kitchen counter. "You sound like daddy."

"Yeah well, I raised you for the last eleven years, so I'm entitled to call you my girl, even my daughter."

Pulling away from her uncle, she turned to Shay, asking if she could borrow some spare clothes.

"Ah, sure, but I don't have a second shirt. Maybe you could ask Kelly or one of the other guys."

Nodding her head, the blonde made her way to the Squad Lieutenant, who sat outside with his team mates at their own table, her bare feet slapping on the cold floor.

When he saw her, Severide pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her cheek. He had heard what had happened with her boyfriend. Somehow he was glad that she had broken up with Michael, because on the upside he might have a chance with her now, but the downside was, Nora was sad, and he hated to see her this way. Though he would still have to wait until he could come out of the closet, knowing Herrmann would have his head if he ever made a move without asking the Captain.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I, could I get one of your spare shirts? I just wanna get out of these clothes."

Hadley, Capp and Tony chuckled at the look of disgust on her face, having known her since she came with her uncle to the firehouse all those years ago.

"Well now at least we got our little Nora back. You were so posh whenever that stuck up banker came by." Capp told her grinning and hugging her, too, when he got up from his chair.

Kelly shook his head and grabbed her hand leading, the blonde back to the lockers, where Shay was already waiting with a pair of her running capris and some socks for her, as Nora didn't have any shoes with her.

"I thought you could use these while you don't have any flats laying around."

Thanking her friend, Herrmann's niece took the bottoms and socks and followed the Lieutenant back to his own locker.

"I only got my duty shirt, so you gotta walk around as a member of the Squad today."

Laughing softly, she reached out and ran her fingers over the soft material of his shirt. "As long as I don't have to go out with you guys when there's a call, I'm all in."

"Na, don't worry, Torch. I'm not sure if you could handle all the things we get to see every day."

Nodding somberly, Nora watched as Severide left her to change and had to sit down for a few minutes, just mulling over the past hour where she went from extremely happy to right out devastated to happy again.

Life was really a roller coaster, as Ronan Keating so accurately sang in his song. Shaking her head with a loud sigh, the blonde shed her dress, leaving it on the dirty floor, just to get some kind of satisfaction for seeing the truth about Michael and her. She pulled on the capris and Kelly's shirt, which surprisingly still smelled of him, even after being freshly washed. Then she took the socks and grinned as she saw the motive on them. Who knew that Shay could be a real girl sometimes?

Pulling her hair up into a messy ponytail, Nora went back to the common room to see them go on about how they would raise money for a new TV.

"Hey, there she is. Now you look like my girl again." Otis said, earning a shove from Herrmann which caused him to nearly topple over in his chair.

Giggling at their antics, she looked went over to her uncle and stopped in front of him, so she could sit down on the chair, where his feet rested right now.

"Oh look at that. What a cutie you are with these socks." he commented pointing down to her feet.

Smirking, the blonde put them together and pointed down to her toes. "And look, I even got a full picture of the kitten if I stand like that."

"Oh kitty got her claws back out." Cruz said, taking a bite of the meal Mills had cooked for them, but was only rewarded by a scrunched up paper ball flying his way.

"Shut up Cruz." Nora said and sat down next to her uncle, to listen to what Peter had come up with for the charity raise.

"Neighborhood hot dog eating contest."

Raising her eyebrows, she looked over as Mouch commented that it was too tacky for the fundraiser.

"And putting a sign out front begging for a TV is what?"

Snorting, the Captain's niece walked over and high-fived her friend for her own come back.

Otis tuned into the conversation and pointed out, that the blonde paramedic was right in a way.

Mills looked back down to his sheet of paper at what he still came up with. "Okay, how about a T-Shirt booth in the driveway?"

"We already sell T-shirts."

Scoffing, Mills went on. "Yeah, but, I mean, no one can ever find the key to the cabinet, Herrmann never has change in the treasury box."

"Damn, uncle C. That ones bad." the blonde said, laughing loudly

"What it's not my fault, that Shay wanted that elliptical."

Pulling her feet up on the chair, Nora watched him over her knees with a smile. "If I can remember correctly, I think I saw you on it once before."

"That is not true."

"It's a pain in the ass." the candidate continued. "So, we put the shirts out front and display them properly."

"I don't know how that's going to generate enough money."

"And" Peter interrupted Mouch when he was still holding onto his skepticism. "And we get Nicki to man the booth."

"Ding. Done." Christopher said and Nora could already see the gears in his head going round and round.

"Oh come on are you guys for real?"

Cruz returned her uncles gesture with a nod of his own. "Now, that is called putting it over the goal line, Peter Mills."

The two knocked their fists together in a brotherly winning signature, when Shay pipped up from her place at the round table across from Otis.

"Why don't you put her in a bikini while you're at it?" she asked and bumped her own fists with Nora, both women not overly fond of the new secretary in 51's office.

Shrugging Peter looked around at the guys and Otis turned to the paramedic, wanting to know if she really were serious about it or just joking.

"About as serious as putting you in a bikini." she told him and Nora snorted loudly, getting up from her place and walking out to the squad table, only hearing that it would be ridiculous to put the brunette in a bikini and that he got the joke now.

"Hey guys." she said, coming to stand behind her friend and putting her hands on Kelly's broad shoulders. "What are you doing?"

Capp looked up at her, patting the seat next to him, while shoving Severide's booted feet from the chair. "You know the usual. You up for some poker?"

"Sure."

In the corner of her eyes, she could see Casey coming out, preparing for a drill. She knew it was going to be good for the guys. And hopefully improve Matt's mood, too. Her uncle had told her about the call they had had the night before and that Casey was up against some guy from the police.

"So what's your ante, Torch?" Kelly asked as they all started to push in the candy's they usually had as bets.

She looked around, not having anything on her body that could work and she didn't want to get up and chance that the guys at the table were cheating, the blonde smirked. "How about if I win, I choose one of you to go out to dinner with me. If I loose I'll relieve Mills of his cooking duty and do it from now on."

"Oh come on, you're already cooking most of the time. You need to come up with something else." Hadley said pushing the cards over to her.

"Okay, how about I'll wash your clothes and gear for a month?"

Contemplating the Squad team looked at each other and finally nodded their heads.

"Yeah, all right. Now let's start." Capp said, putting on his poker face, but Nora could already see his eyes glinting, knowing he must have had a good hand dealt.

They played for some time, Herrmann's niece always looking over as Casey went on about how Peter had to act while rescuing a downed firefighter in a burning house. The funny thing was, it wasn't just Mills that had to undergo the training but Otis, too, who had been making fun of their candidate ever since he came in late that morning. Matt told them, that the slowest had to mop the apparatus floor, which Nora knew, was very, very dirty, judging by the black stains on the white soles of her socks.

"All right, next one is the last betting round. Capp, your turn."

So far, the blonde had been lucky to not loose against the guys, but she knew Kelly was an excellent poker player, an expert at bluffing. Capp decided to call, having seen the amount of candy that was in the middle of the table and the opportunity to not have to wash his clothes for a month, so everyone had to show their hands.

He only had two pair, while Hadley defeated him with his own straight, because the auburn haired firefighter had an ace in his hand.

Then it was Kelly's turn and Nora could already see him smirk as he put down his cards. "Full house. Sorry gentlemen."

"Ah not so fast, Lieutenant. You forgot I was here, too." the blonde said, as he leaned back in his chair his hands linked behind his head and having a pleased smile on his face.

Biting her lips with a grin, Nora put down her hand and turned over to look at her good friend. All three sat there, gaping at the young woman as they saw her cards.

"Royal Flush. This means, I get all the candy and someone that takes me out to a fancy, high priced dinner."

Just then Hallie, Matt's fiancé came in the bay entrance and brought him lunch. They left together and the blonde watched Gabby's face when she saw the brunette doctor going inside the firehouse. Nora knew that her friend had a crush on Casey and hoped that someday she would get over it, because it wasn't looking like he would split up with Hallie any time soon.

Hadley dealt another game, this time it was not poker, then already having had their fill with the bad game before, when Nicki came out, a large envelope in her hand.

"Hey this came in for you earlier." the brunette secretary told Kelly, three pairs of eyes on them as he thanked her.

He looked inside and raised his eyebrows, turning back to where Nicki had left.

"What's inside?" Nora asked, wanting to know what was going on.

Severide, shook his head, taking the cards back into his hands and getting back into the game. "Don't worry, just some papers."

Raising her own eyebrows at him, the blonde turned back to the entrance of the bay, seeing some guys getting out of a car. They opened the trunk and she could see a brand new flat screen TV sitting there.

Mouch whooped and went inside to tell Casey.

When the two cops, that she now knew where it came from, brought it in, everyone cheered, having scored such a great thing finally. All of them got up from the table and looked over at them.

The only one not happy with this was Matt. "Who's it from?"

"Detective Voight. He saw your sign." one of the cops said, still holding the TV.

"What's that, a 40-inch?" Otis asked pointing at it and the guy in the gray shirt answered, that it was a forty-three inch TV.

Of course the guys would be happy with it, but Casey told them to take it back, of course earning disapproving looks from his fellow firefighters.

"No, no, don't worry. Voight went through all the channels and had it donated to the city, but specified it come here so the Bureau bitches aren't gonna freak out."

Matt didn't want to hear anymore, pointing to the car with a stern look. "Send it back."

Everyone looked at their Truck commander, not sure what was really going on, when the two men that were holding the TV moved back to their car, loading it inside the trunk again.

Boden went up to Casey, wanting to know what was really going on, while Kelly still fingered the envelope. Nora saw that Nicki had gone into the room where they all kept their turn-out gear and her friend followed her.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." stomping off towards the break room, the blonde looked through the cabinets, wanting something else to think about besides Ms. Secretary and the Squad Lieutenant getting it on in that room.

Pouch walked up to her, the claws on her feet clicking and Nora leaned down, softly rubbing the back of their dog. "Hey there girly, you keeping me company?"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Shay asked, when she and Dawson walked inside the common room.

The blonde looked up, when she pulled out the bag of flour and raked through the fridge. "Making cookies. I need to get the mental pictures of Kelly with Nicki out of my head."

Just then the alarm buzzed, saying there was a jumper. Both female paramedics apologized and left the break room, going to the ambulance.

Sighing, Nora leaned on the counter and watched her friends and family rush up to the trucks. "Just be careful guys." she whispered and went back to preparing the cookie dough.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to all you guys that have reviewed, favourited and followed this story. I hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think, so I can work on the next one. Thank you and have fun reading it. **

**Chapter 8**

While moving about the kitchen, Nora danced to the songs on her phone, having put they playlist on shuffle. There was a mix of Elvis Presley, some Eminem and just various pop and rock songs from the past decades.

Anita smiled as she saw the young girl jumping behind the counter to Kenny Loggins 'Footloose' and singing along to the lyrics.

"It is good to have you back, darling." the older woman said, looking at the batch of cookies the Captain's niece had already backed.

Grinning from ear to ear, the blonde pushed the full plate towards the firehouse head secretary so that she could get some. "Thank you, I'm glad to be back again. The times I was here were too short to really make me happy. I missed the cooking and backing and on top of that I missed the guys."

"Oh believe me, dear. Everyone missed you, even the Chief." Anita said, winking at her, grabbing one of the cookies and walked back out of the common room.

Breathing in deeply, Nora put the last batch into the oven and smiled as the teams came back from their last call.

"So, what happened?"

Those were the first words that Herrmann's niece asked when she saw them sitting down at the tables and just leaning back.

"Some guy wanted to kill himself, got speared by the fence." Cruz said, when he finally got up to take a look what the young woman had been up to while they had been gone.

He knew from the soft music playing in the background, that she had probably cooked or baked. But once he saw the large plate of homemade cookies, the driver of Truck 81 couldn't help himself.

Joe grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, but I'm just so glad that you have finally gotten back to the real life. And I'm so glad that you decided to bake."

Laughing softly, the blonde shook her head and put the plate on the round table across the counter so everyone could take some of the cookies.

"You're not the first and you won't be the last to tell me how happy you are that I broke up with Michael. If I didn't know matter I would think you wanted that all the time."

Scratching the back of his head, Herrmann cleared his throat and walked up to his niece, putting his arm around her shoulders and turning her around, so he could talk quietly to her. "Well, I mean I only want you to be happy, but I had a bad feeling the first time I saw that guy coming into the station."

"You could have told me, Uncle C. I didn't want you to feel bad for not being able to tell me how you felt about him."

Kissing her temple, Christopher pulled her closer. "I'm just glad I got my feisty and still sweet niece back, the one that takes my own kids out to hockey games and watches football matches with my comrades."

"I never left you, you know. I'll always be the girl you raised me after dad died."

Feeling the tears sting their eyes, both Herrmann's brushed them away and smiled at one another.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll ask the gentlemen at the Squad table if they'd care for some sweet treats after such a call."

Groaning the guys from Truck shook their heads, as the blonde left the common room with a smaller plate of cookies for Tony, Hadley, Capp and Kelly. "Hey guys, I thought you could use some energy boost today. What you say? You up for some chocolate chip cookies?"

The table erupted in hooting laughter and shouts of 'Hell yes' and Nora couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.

Severide grinned and pulled her next to him on his lap. To everyone else it was a gesture of good friends, as both the Lieutenant and Herrmann's niece had known each other for some time before, when he started at 51, but to Kelly himself it was only a way to try to distract himself from the pain that raked through his shoulder.

Excusing himself, he stood up, grabbed one of the largest cookies on the plate and went to the locker rooms.

"You okay?" Nora asked when she followed him to the common room.

Severide nodded his head, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, just pinched a nerve on a call. Nothing big."

Not wanting to get into his business, at least for now, the blonde let it slide and watched her friend go, knowing there was nothing she could do right now. Shaking her head, she looked over to the kitchen and saw Mills taking out food from some boxes that hadn't been there when she was alone.

"Hey Peter, can I help you with something?"

The candidate smiled and turned when the side door opened. "Ah no, I'm just doing good on my cooking duty. By the way, this is Elise, my sister." He pointed to the young curly haired woman, putting another grocery box on the counter.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, I'm Nora."

"Oh, same here. I hope he hasn't given you any troubles." she said, joking, when Mills gave her a disapproving look.

Smiling back at the young woman, the blonde shook her head. "Don't worry. He has behaved himself better than some of the guys around here."

Elise excused herself getting more boxes from the car. Nora turned to the dark skinned candidate and helped him, put the groceries away. "So, how do you like it here? I'm sorry I didn't have more time to talk with you."

"I'm happy here. My father was a firefighter, too, and I want to do good for him."

She knew what it meant for the firemen children. They always wanted to be like their fathers. "You are already doing a pretty good job."

Mills' sister returned with the last box and looked at the two of them. "Those tomatoes are only good for another day or so."

She put it on the counter across from Peter, who was just cutting up some veggies for the late lunch. Just as both women were about to clear the box, the candidate spoke up. Nora knew he had to work at the family diner, helping his mother and sister, but in his heart he was a firefighter.

"Elise, I'm done at the restaurant." His sister looked at him questioningly, "I mean, I cam in late at the beginning of a shift...That ain't gonna happen again."

Feeling the tension between the siblings, Nora took the last groceries and put them in the fridge, walking over to the couch where Pouch had decided to lay down.

"Mom has just gotta deal with it."

His sister turned to him, not really knowing if she should be mad or happy for her brother. "Then tell her."

"Well, I'm going to. But I need you to back me up, okay?"

"I mean, you know what's going on here, right?" Elise scoffed, now really looking at Peter.

"Of course. Why do you think I've been there on every day off? You think I like slinging hash?"

Just then Kelly walked into the common room, winking at Nora who played with the dog of 51 and gave him a soft smile. He, too, could feel the tension between the siblings, but still went over to grab some fruit and was then introduced to Elise. On his way out, the Lieutenant reached over the couch and stroked the dog's ears, making the blonde smile even brighter than before.

"Mom has got to realize that dad loved being a firefighter. And I'm not gonna run from something I want to do with my life just to make her feel better."

Nora could hear the determination in his voice, something only the true firefighters had, that were cut out to be one

"Then reassure her."

"Well, how?"

"I don't know. She's scared. She doesn't want to lose you, too."

Sighing his sister left Peter to get back to his cooking and Herrmann's niece walked up to him. "You know, it's never easy on the family. They will always be scared that someday their loved ones aren't coming back from a call."

"I always looked up to my father. He was a hero."

The blonde put her hands on his shoulders, looking deeply into his sorrowful eyes. "And he will always be one, just like you are going to be one."

"Thanks. For having my back."

Nora winked at the candidate, brushing her hair behind her ears. "I always do that for the new candidates, only not for Otis. He had to take what was given to him, which is why he probably drilled you the first couple of days."

Laughing the pair turned back to the kitchen counters with the groceries, thinking about what they would cook for the teams.

* * *

"I didn't know your side job was a restaurant business, Mills." Christopher Herrmann said, when he and the other members of Truck 81 came into the common room, seeing both their candidate and Nora cooking, music softly playing in the background.

Peter was frying up some onions and burgers and Herrmann's niece worked on the veggies for the side dish. "For now. Phasing that out, though."

"I think, you're the only food-related side job we got here, 'cause let's see, we got security guard, construction..." Herrmann said, looking around before turning back to Casey, who grabbed a cup of coffee.

"And what about me? Normally the food is my side-job, too, Uncle C, and I work here, too." Nora said, grinning at the Truck's second in command, who winced softly at her words but didn't say anything else.

"What about you?" Peter asked, when he finally looked up at Herrmann.

"General entrepreneurship." In the background, the blonde snorted and brought over the vegetables for some frying to the counter Mills was standing at. "I was doing pretty good as a day trader, you know, until all the trolls jumped on board and, you know, capsized it for guys like me."

"Oh come on, you just weren't cut out for this."

Giving her a pointed look the Captain leaned closer to their new candidate. "You know, it's funny that you bring it up, Peter Mills because I'm actually circling an investment opportunity that could be massive."

Nora could see Cruz rolling his eyes and sent him a look, before she went around the counter and placed her hands on her uncles shoulders.

"You're not trying to start up another of those funny business deals are you?"

"Course not. I might let you guys get in on it." he said turning back to his comrades.

"Well, what is it?" Cruz asked dealing the cards of their game and the blonde couldn't help the snicker that left her lips.

"Nah. You guys are gonna have to wait 'cause you know I" Christopher shook his head, putting one of his hands on Nora's own, that squeezed his shoulder. "Okay, fine."

With expectant looks, the guys all turned to the Captain and listened as he continued telling about his new business. "Two words...Energy water."

"Oh my god!" his niece exclaimed and turned him to give Herrmann a questioning look. "You gotta"

"Are you kidding me?" Vargas whispered and Nora could even see Matt cracking a smile.

But then, the object of her momentary hate walked up to them, telling the guys that one Greg Duffy was out in the bay waiting for them as they were the ones that responded to the car accident he was into.

Casey and the rest of the guys made their way out of the common room and Nora followed a few feet behind them. She could see a middle aged man in a checkered dress shirt standing there by the Squad table, his face still bearing the scraps from the accident.

Matt went over, greeting him with a hand shake.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, but my wife made this for you guys." he apologized and pointed at the cake that was placed carefully on the table, lifting the cover. "We really appreciate what you did. And we know damn well it could have been worse, if the car had tipped over. So...Thank you."

Everyone of them gave him a somber look, appreciating his thanks and reassuring him that it was what they did.

"How's your son?"

So far, the Truck Lieutenant had let anyone know what was going on, that the boy was paralyzed from the waist down and would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but now hearing it from the father had broken Nora's heart for the family a whole lot more than she would have thought.

"Yeah...Well, you know, Mikey's got a tough road ahead of him, but we're gonna make it. We're gonna be all right."

Swallowing, she could feel the tension in the bay, knowing that how Matt really felt about this whole mess.

"The other reason I came here is, I don't know if there's anything you guys do in terms of what you see or piece together based on what the accident scene looked like but the police report came back saying I ran a red light, causing the accident. And, ah, that's...That's not what happened."

Knowing the truth behind the accident, the anger rolled in waves off of Casey and Herrmann's niece could feel it even from further away. He had told his team about the son of Detective Voight and that it was him that caused the accident.

"And I'm kind of at a loss in terms of how to fight it."

Matt looked between the father and the Chief and Nora took the opportunity to walk up to Greg.

"Hi, Mr. Duffy. I'm Nora, Christopher Herrmann's niece. I know this is a hard time for you, but would you like to come inside and sit with us. Then you can talk to the Lieutenant about how we're going to help you. We even have coffee, if you want." she told him with a smile and the man 51 rescued only a few days prior returned it. The father nodded his head and followed the blonde. "If you ever want Mikey to get out, let me know. I work with Chaplain Orlovsky sometimes and we go see hockey matches with some of the CFD Kids or just visit the zoo."

In that moment, Herrmann could feel his heart swell with pride. He knew Nora had a big heart no matter how old or how small and she helped the Chaplain just to see the other kids smile again. Some of the children she took out every second weekend were either mentally or physically disabled, but to her it didn't make a difference. Even his own kids went with their cousin to tour with the group.

"That sounds wonderful, Ms. Herrmann. I will let my son know that he always is welcome in your company."

Smiling, the blonde gripped Greg's hand tightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Always."

Walking over, she saw her uncle nodding his head in approval and she knew she had done the right thing.

* * *

"Ah, Chief? Sorry to bother you, I just wanted to know if you could look this over?" Nora asked walking into his office, seeing Boden talking to a man, she assumed to be Nicki's father as they just talked about her.

"No worries, Nora. Al, this is Nora, Christopher Herrmann's niece. She sometimes cooks for Firehouse 51 and helps us with some things." he said and then turned back to the blonde again. "What is it, you needed?"

"Chaplain Orlovsky wanted to know if we could get some gear that is not needed right now, like helmets and turnouts. We wanted the kids to dress up and have some fun, you know taking pictures and such."

Shrugging his broad shoulders, Wallace nodded his head. "Sure, just got to the equipment room and get what you need, there should be at least five turnouts and helmets."

"Great, thanks Chief. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Rutkowski."

Nora left the office and walked back out to the bay, seeing Capp, Hadley and Tony sitting at their table, but no Kelly. She went over to the door of the Turnout Gear Room and punched in the code. Just before she went in, Capp cleared his throat.

"Ugh, you might wanna wait before you get in there."

The young woman turned back to him and gave him a questioning stare. "Why? I just need to get some turnouts and helmets. It's not as if someone's in there."

With that, she opened the door and went inside. Looking through all the turnouts and helmets she hoped, she would find some in a decent size, when she heard moaning from the back of the room. Nora knew it wasn't her business, but being the ever curious child of the Herrmann family, she went to investigate.

Holding back a gasp, she could feel her eyes widen. There was Kelly, bare chested with a nearly equally undressed Nicki, making out between the isles of turnout gear. At that moment she didn't exactly know what to feel.

Nora always had had a crush on Severide, ever since she met him on her first day visiting the firehouse with her uncle. But she always felt her heart crumble a little more whenever the Lieutenant was with a different woman.

Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat, making the two of them stop mid kissing and turn their heads toward the intruder.

Kelly felt his own eyes bulge when he saw Herrmann's niece standing there, a dark look on her face and her eyes shining.

"I think you should leave, Nicki, your father is outside with the Chief looking for you." she said, looking at the two of them, lips swollen and the brunette's hair askew from Severides hands running through her brown locks constantly. "And a word of advice. Leave Kelly alone, it's not gonna work out anyway."

Cursing, Nicki dressed hastily and left the room without a second glance at her recent conquest.

"Nora"

"Are you taking your lays to the firehouse now, too, Severide?" the blonde spat at him, her words venomous. "At least be more discreet about it."

With that she, too, left him standing there, cursing his own stupidiy. Kelly pulled his shirt over his head and made his own way out of the room, seeing Nicki's father standing there in the bay. He nodded and sat down next to his comrades.

"What did you do, Severide?" Hadley angrily whispered at him. He had seen Nora leave the room, stomping back to the common room, a tear falling from her eyes.

"Nothing. I just...I had some fun. Now leave it."

Outside he seemed to keep his cool, being who he was all the time, a womanizer, but inside Kelly felt a turmoil, knowing he had hurt his one best friend beside Shay.

* * *

Deciding he needed to talk to Nora, the Lieutenant got back up and went toward his office, knowing the blonde would maybe be at her uncle's bunk and shut out the world again, like she always did, when she was angry or sad. On the way there he met Leslie.

"Hey, I need to talk to you. Hey."

He turned to her, pointing back to the offices. "That girl is in serious heat and I'm not Gandhi." he said without thinking, but winced at the scowl Shay gave him.

"What? No. About your arm. Here." she said and gave him a card.

"What's this?"

Leslie looked at him, knowing he needed a push in the right direction. "A friend or mine. I gave her a heads up."

Kelly thanked her, stuffing the card in his back pocket and decided to maybe call her, but just maybe.

"Yeah, your appointment's after shift. You said you were gonna get your arm looked at."

"I know. I am. I will. I...I am."

Sighing the blonde paramedic knew, her friend wouldn't go through with it. "Okay, so, I basically feel like you've been lying to me in order to get pain killers, and that's not really a quality I look for in a friend and roommate."

"Part of me doesn't want to know." he told her, not wanting to risk another one of his friendships today.

"I get it. Of course. But the consultation's off the books. Just you and I will know. And we'll figure it out." she said, hoping her friend would finally see reason.

Giving in, the Lieutenant saw Leslie nodding her head and start to leave, but he stopped her. "Uh, have you seen Nora around?"

"Why? What did you do?"

Shooting her a questioning look, Kelly raised his hands. "Why did I have to do anything when I'm just looking for her?"

"Because I just saw her storm through the firehouse and out the back. Don't know what she's doing, but she's pissed and wants to be left alone."

Leaving him standing there, Shay went back to the common room. Severide rubbed his fingers along his stubbly jaw, not sure what to do about his current situation. He knew he was at fault for giving in to Nicki's advances, but he thought he would never end up with Nora, so why should he still feel his own heart ache.

With a sigh he opened the back door and found the blonde sitting in one of the deckchairs, her knees drawn up and her head turned away from him.

"Leslie told me, you were out here." he started not knowing what to really say to her. "Can we talk about it. I'd like to apologize."

Still Herrmann's niece didn't turn around and Kelly got fed up with her little display, his temper rising faster than it did before everything that had happened. "You could at least look at me, when I'm talking to you."

"Why should I?" Finally a sign that she was still alive. "You only had eyes for the leggy secretary that you wanted to screw before. Oh and I forgot the other girls you had and will have. I mean, is there even one girl in Chicago you haven't slept with?"

By now, Nora had stood up from the chair, her own temper rising with every word she threw at him.

"Oh come on, there are plenty or women out there I haven't screwed." Kelly said, slightly proud about the fact he still had a few to go.

"Oh really? Is it like this? Do you have some kind of list going like 'A hundred things to do before I die' and on top there's 'Screw as many women as you can'? Because right now you're nothing but a man whore and womanizer. You don't even see the people that have feelings for you." she ranted, pacing on the concrete, her feet bare of socks.

The Lieutenant was slightly taken aback by her words, not knowing the real meaning behind it. "W-What are you saying?"

Taking a deep breath, the blonde brushed the few strands out of her face that had fallen into her eyes and looked at her friend. Even though it hurt deeply how he acted around other women, she couldn't find it in her heart to shut him out. "I-Ah forget it. Just leave me alone, Kelly."

"Nora, come on. You know me."

"Yeah, I do Kelly. Shay and me helped you up again, when Renée screwed you over with that other guy. I was there for you guys after Darden's death, when you really needed me. I-I'm not really sure what I'm feeling, because right now all I feel is hurt and betrayal. I thought Michael was an asshole, but I'm not sure if you aren't in the same boat with him."

She didn't want to hear any excuses coming from him, when he opened his mouth, so she left him, standing alone in the back of the firehouse, pondering on her words.

When Kelly got to the deeper meaning of her tirade, he cursed, inside and out, and rand after her, hoping to catch up the the Captain's niece, but he was already to late, when she pulled away from the curb, waving at her uncle and the rest of 51 with a soft smile on her face.

"Shit." he cursed, running his hands through his hair. This time he really fucked it up. Big time.

"You slept with the secretary, right?" Shay said angrily, when she came up to him and even though her roomie didn't say anything, she knew she was right and that was why Nora was so pissed at Kelly.

Herrmann's niece had once made a drunken confession when Gaby, Nora and her were out at a disco downtown, just enjoying the time together and having fun. She trusted the paramedics with her secret crush on Severide and they never told anyone, not even the Squad Lieutenant himself. The only thing they saw, was the hurt look, whenever he went after a girl that wasn't Nora.

"You gotta make it up to her, buddy. Big, big time."


End file.
